‘Cruel monster’ who physically and sexually assaulted teenage girls jailed

A 25-year-old from Lewisham has been jailed for 14 and a half years for physically and sexually assaulting five teenage girls.

Joshua Plunkett, of Reginald Road, was convicted of 11 offences including two counts of sexual activity with a child, actual bodily harm and perverting the course of justice.

Plunkett targeted five teenage girls between the ages of 13 and 18 from 2016 to 2020, befriending his victims online before abusing them physically, sexually and emotionally.

The court was told he strangled many of his victims and broke one girl’s finger.

Plunkett also manipulated his victims, publishing graphic images of them online if they upset him or tried to stop contacting him.

Detective Constable Natalie Franklin, the investigating officer from the Met’s Modern Slavery and Child Exploitation Team, described Plunkett as “the personification of violence against women”.

She said: “Plunkett is a cruel monster who preyed on young teenage girls. 

“He would make their lives a living nightmare for his own twisted pleasure by abusing them with sexual, physical and emotional violence.”

The court heard how Plunkett demanded access to one of his victims’ social media accounts and strangled her on two occasions when she refused to give him her phone.

After the victim ended the relationship he sent a number of explicit pictures and videos from her social media account of the two of them engaging in sexual activity to her friends and family. 

Plunkett intimidated another of his victims into retracting her statement to the police saying the two had had sex when she was 15.

While released on bail he went to her house where he kicked her and pulled out some of her hair before stealing her phone and bank card.

DC Franklin said: “I would like to praise the bravery of Plunkett’s victims who came forward and gave evidence. 

“It cannot have been easy for them to relive their traumatic ordeals, but their courage resulted in us being able to build a strong case against Plunkett which has resulted in him being put behind bars for a considerable amount of time.”

Plunkett was sentenced at Croydon Crown Court on Thursday, November 18 to 14-and-a-half years’ imprisonment. 

He will serve at least eight-and-a-half years of the sentence in prison, with the remainder to be served on licence. 

He also received a 15 year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and will be on the Sex Offenders Register.

Plunkett was convicted on Friday, September 17 of possession of a prohibited image, sexual communications with a child, controlling coercive behaviour and disclosing private photographs.

He was also convicted of actual bodily harm, two counts of sexual activity with a child, perverting the course of justice, causing a child to watch a sexual act, breach of a Sexual Risk Order and failing to comply with section 49 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.